Coach Hire Across Switzerland

Montreux Coach Hire for Chillon, Lavaux and the Riviera

Montreux publishes no coach parking and no set-down points for its centre; the commune points drivers to a regional map and a live car-park service. The plan for the town is therefore agreed with the operator, while the sights around it are well organised.

Chillon

At Chillon a coach can stand at the roadside next to the castle, three hours at most, with the disc displayed. Group rates apply only to groups booked in writing on the castle's form; agencies and tour operators book 72 hours ahead. The CGN pier is 100 m away and Veytaux-Chillon station six minutes on foot, so the group can arrive by boat and leave by coach.

Mercedes-Benz Tourismo 49-seat coach, exterior
Mercedes-Benz Tourismo 49-seat coach, exterior

Lavaux and Chaplin's World

In the Lavaux vineyards the lanes are tight, village crossings are often one-way and the winegrower always goes first. Cully, Chexbres and Rivaz have no published coach parking. The coach stays on the cantonal roads; the group continues by train, by boat or on the Lavaux Express road train from Lutry or Cully.

Chaplin's World, above Vevey, is 15 minutes away and straightforward: coaches set down at the entrance and park in a reserved area. Guided tours of up to 15 people are booked 15 days ahead, school visits five days ahead.

Airports for a group arriving in Montreux

Stadiums and arenas a coach can reach

  • Auditorium Stravinski (2M2C) — Concert and congress hall inside the 2M2C, with hydraulic platforms for symphony concerts, gala dinners and conferences; a main stage of the Montreux Jazz Festival. Avenue Claude-Nobs 5, Montreux.
  • Montreux Jazz Festival venues (2M2C and lakeside quays) — The festival takes place in and around the 2M2C and along the quays each July (next edition 2 to 17 July 2027). See coach notes for festival traffic rules.

Coach day trips from Montreux

  • Château de Chillon (Veytaux) — about 3 km, about 10 min
  • Vevey — about 7 km, about 15 min
  • Chaplin's World (Corsier-sur-Vevey) — about 9 km, about 15 min
  • Rivaz (Lavaux Vinorama) — about 17 km, about 25 min
  • Aigle (Château d'Aigle) — about 17 km, about 25 min
  • Cully (Lavaux vineyards) — about 21 km, about 30 min
  • Lausanne — about 31 km, about 35 min
  • Gruyères — about 41 km, about 45 min
  • Col du Pillon (Glacier 3000) — about 41 km, about 55 min
  • Martigny — about 44 km, about 45 min
  • Gstaad — about 59 km, about 1.25 h
  • Sion — about 67 km, about 1 h
  • Chamonix-Mont-Blanc (France) — about 86 km, about 1.5 h
  • Genève — about 94 km, about 1.5 h
  • Leukerbad — about 105 km, about 1.75 h
  • Täsch (Matterhorn Terminal Täsch, shuttle train to Zermatt) — about 139 km, about 2.25 h

Where a coach can stop in Montreux, and other rules

  • Genève Aéroport (GVA) is about 92 km by road from the Place du Marché, about 1 h 15 min in light traffic. Journeys take longer at peak times.
  • Sion Airport (SIR) is about 65 km by road from the Place du Marché, about 1 h in light traffic. Sion Airport lists only a few seasonal flights, so most groups arrive at Genève Aéroport.
  • The Commune de Montreux publishes no list of coach parking places or coach set-down points for the town centre; it refers drivers to the regional online map of roads, car parks and works and to a real-time car-park occupancy service.
  • Château de Chillon: cars and coaches may park along the road beside the castle for up to 3 hours; a parking disc is required.
  • Chaplin's World (Corsier-sur-Vevey): coaches set passengers down at the entrance; outdoor parking reserved for coaches is available on site. Parking is not permitted after closing time.
  • Lavaux UNESCO vineyards: narrow roads, many one-way village crossings, very little parking and absolute priority for winegrowers; the vineyard paths are closed to two-wheeled vehicles and the site asks drivers to use only the official routes and cantonal roads. Motorway A9 exits: 11 Belmont/Lutry, 13 Chexbres, 14 Vevey. No official coach parking in Cully, Chexbres or Rivaz was found.
  • Montreux Jazz Festival (2 to 17 July 2027): the festival has no special coach parking near the site; coach parking is possible at Chillon (Montreux exit towards Villeneuve). The Grand-Rue is closed to private motor traffic every festival evening (Monday to Wednesday 20:00 to 02:00, Thursday to Sunday 17:00 to 03:00). From the motorway exit, signs direct drivers to car parks in Montreux, Villeneuve and La Tour-de-Peilz; parking outside marked places is strictly forbidden. Taxi waiting zones are at Montreux station and in front of the Mona. SBB adds trains and night trains, the Territet-Glion funicular runs until 03:00 and VMCV lines 201 and 204 are reinforced at night.
  • Montreux Noël (20 November to 24 December 2026): coach registration through the market's online form is compulsory on Saturdays and Sundays (not required on weekdays). From the Montreux motorway exit, follow Route de Chailly to the coach set-down zone at Rue du Lac 5, Clarens. Option 1: after set-down, take Avenue des Alpes, make a U-turn at the station roundabout, turn right at the next junction, continue straight on over the Châtelard crossroads and park on the left in the one-way coach parking zone; passengers return by bus 204 from the stop "Clarens, Oche Thorens" to "Montreux, Gare"; the coach returns to the set-down zone via Avenue des Brayères. Option 2: park at the P+R Chailly; bus 204 from "Chailly-Montreux, P+R" to "Montreux, Gare"; the coach returns via Route de Chailly. Arrive early to avoid peak hours.
  • Rochers-de-Naye line (MOB): closed from 14 September to 16 October 2026 for works (switches, retaining walls between Les Planches and Glion and between Paccot and Jaman, and foundations for a new contact line); replacement buses run between Montreux and Haut-de-Caux. Contact-line renewal continues in stages until early 2029.
  • Montreux station (MOB tracks): the MOB track layout at Montreux station is rebuilt from 10 August 2026 to the end of February 2027 for a new maintenance centre (planned for 2028); train services and timetables are not affected.
  • The commune of Montreux publishes its road works online (Travaux en cours), with e-mail alerts; for example, Route de Jaman at Caux is closed from the Caux car park to the bend "contour à Félix" from 5 October 2026 to 9 May 2027.
  • Montreux station (SBB and MOB): InterCity, InterRegio and regional trains from Genève (Genève Aéroport in less than an hour), Lausanne, Bern, Zürich and the Valais; MOB trains to Zweisimmen, the GoldenPass Express to Interlaken and the cogwheel line to the Rochers-de-Naye. The 2M2C is 7 minutes on foot. No official coach set-down point at the station was found.
  • Veytaux-Chillon station: regional S5 trains every hour, 6 minutes on foot from the Château de Chillon. Vevey station: bus 212 to Chaplin's World (about 15 minutes).
  • Cabotage: under Article 20 of the EU-Switzerland Land Transport Agreement, a coach operator established in an EU state may not carry passengers between two places in Switzerland. A group journey that starts and ends in Switzerland therefore needs a vehicle from an operator established in Switzerland. Coaches may carry groups across the border in both directions; these occasional services need no authorisation, but the coach carries a journey form (Fahrtenblatt).
  • Road charges: coaches and other buses over 3.5 tonnes pay the flat-rate heavy vehicle fee (pauschale Schwerverkehrsabgabe, PSVA) for every day they are in Switzerland, on all public roads, and need no motorway vignette; foreign-registered coaches pay the PSVA online through the BAZG "Via" portal or app before entering Switzerland. Minibuses and cars up to 3.5 tonnes need the motorway vignette (the e-vignette linked to the number plate, or the sticker) to use motorways and expressways (Autobahnen / autoroutes / autostrade).
  • Speed and driving bans: on motorways and expressways coaches may drive at up to 100 km/h (articulated buses and scheduled buses with standing places excepted); heavy vehicles are otherwise limited to 80 km/h. The Swiss night driving ban (22:00 to 05:00) and the Sunday and public-holiday ban for heavy vehicles do not apply to vehicles carrying passengers.
  • Drivers' hours: coach drivers follow the Swiss ordinance ARV 1, aligned with the EU rules: at most 9 hours of driving a day (10 hours twice a week), a break of at least 45 minutes after 4.5 hours of driving and at least 11 hours of daily rest, recorded by tachograph. Drivers of foreign-registered coaches must keep the same driving, break and rest rules in Switzerland. In domestic traffic, professional drivers of cars and of minibuses with up to 16 seats besides the driver follow ARV 2 instead.
  • Winter: Switzerland has no general winter-tyre obligation, but a vehicle must be fit for the road conditions and the driver must keep control of it at all times; the Federal Roads Office (ASTRA) recommends winter tyres from October to Easter. Where the sign "Schneeketten obligatorisch" / "chaînes à neige obligatoires" / "Catene per la neve obbligatorie" (sign 2.48) is shown, at least two drive wheels on the same axle must be fitted with snow chains.
  • Cross-border day trips: a coach based in Switzerland may take a group into a neighbouring country and back. The road rules, charges and any low-emission rules of that country apply on its roads, so the operator checks them before the trip.

Festival evenings

The Montreux Jazz Festival runs from 2 to 17 July 2027. Last time round the festival offered no coach parking close by; coaches were sent to Chillon, and every evening the Grand-Rue was shut to private vehicles. Fix set-down and pick-up times with the operator, and expect busy roads late at night.

Festival nights need a careful look at drivers' hours too. A coach driver gets at least 11 hours of rest a day, so a 03:00 finish affects the next morning's start.

Trains, mountains and longer days

The GoldenPass Express runs through to Interlaken in about 3 h 15 min. One good day puts the group on the train while the coach drives round empty to collect it; group tickets and seat reservations are compulsory. For the Rochers-de-Naye cogwheel train, groups of 10 or more also announce themselves and reserve seats.

By road, Gruyères is 45 minutes away, Glacier 3000 at the Col du Pillon about 55 minutes, Gstaad about 1.25 hours and Chamonix about 1.5. Täsch, for Zermatt, is about 2.25 hours.

What organisers ask us

Which airport serves Montreux?

Geneva Airport, 92 km away and about 1 h 15 min by coach in light traffic. Sion has only a few seasonal flights.

Where does the coach set down at Montreux station?

No official coach set-down point exists there. The operator confirms a stop in town before the day, and the 2M2C congress centre is seven minutes' walk downhill.

Can we take a lake boat for part of the day?

Yes. CGN boats call at Montreux, Territet, Clarens and Chillon. Groups of 10 or more contact the CGN group service and are at the pier 20 minutes before departure.

More group trips by coach

Vehicles, each with a driver